매일 보는 우리집 잉꼬 앵무도 13년 가까이 산다하고 강아지도 15년 가까이 산다는데 하물며 자주먹는 치킨은 어떨까 생각이 들어서 식재료로서 소, 닭, 돼지가 아닌 생명체로서 그들의 수명이 궁금해졌다...
Do you know how long a cow, a pig, or a chicken could live if they were not slaughtered?
Surprisingly, it is not an easy task to find the natural life expectancy of so-called farm animals. Neither agricultural textbooks nor special-interest media make this information readily available. However, their ideal age to be slaughtered is easily found in many textbooks and agricultural fact sheets. This leads us to believe that the true life expectancy of these animals is not relevant in contemporary agriculture.
If you compare the average length of their actual life as farm animals with their potential life expectancy you will discover a huge discrepancy. As you can guess, life expectancy for many farm animals is much longer compared to when they are slaughtered.
Age of animals slaughtered
Most animals are slaughtered as babies, at a very small portion of their natural life span, regardless of whether they are raised conventionally or in operations that are labelled “humane”, “sustainable”, “natural”, “free range”, “cage free”, “heritage bred”, “grass fed”, “local” or “organic”.
* Most chickens and turkeys are bred to grow so fast that their bodies cannot endure very long. When not bred for consumption, chickens and turkeys can grow at a rate their bodies can sustain for many years.
📚 Reference
https://www.aussieabattoirs.com/facts/age-slaughtered
Do you know how long a cow, a pig, or a chicken could live if they were not slaughtered?
Surprisingly, it is not an easy task to find the natural life expectancy of so-called farm animals. Neither agricultural textbooks nor special-interest media make this information readily available. However, their ideal age to be slaughtered is easily found in many textbooks and agricultural fact sheets. This leads us to believe that the true life expectancy of these animals is not relevant in contemporary agriculture.
If you compare the average length of their actual life as farm animals with their potential life expectancy you will discover a huge discrepancy. As you can guess, life expectancy for many farm animals is much longer compared to when they are slaughtered.
Age of animals slaughtered
Most animals are slaughtered as babies, at a very small portion of their natural life span, regardless of whether they are raised conventionally or in operations that are labelled “humane”, “sustainable”, “natural”, “free range”, “cage free”, “heritage bred”, “grass fed”, “local” or “organic”.
| Typical Slaughter Age | Natural Life Span | |
| Chickens (male in egg industry) | 1 day | Up to 8 years |
| “Veal” calves | 1-24 weeks | 15-20 years |
| Chickens (broilers / meat breeds) | 5-7 weeks | Up to 8 years* |
| Ducks | 7-8 weeks | 6-8 years |
| Rabbits | 10-12 weeks | 8-12 years |
| Goats | 12-20 weeks | 12-14 years |
| Geese | 15-20 weeks | 8-15 years |
| Turkeys | 4-5 months | Up to 15 years* |
| Pigs | 5-6 months | 10-12 years |
| Lambs | 6-8 months | 12-14 years |
| “Beef” cattle | 18 months | 15-20 years |
| Chickens (egg laying hens) | 18 months | Up to 8 years |
| Pigs (breeding sows) | 3-5 years | 10-12 years |
| Dairy cows | 4 years | 15-20 years |
📚 Reference
https://www.aussieabattoirs.com/facts/age-slaughtered
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